Follow Honeydew's progress toward becoming a working "Guide Dog for the Blind" - training to help give the gifts of companionship and independence to her blind partner.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Bad, Bad Dog!

Honeydew's in trouble!! Bad dog. Very bad dog.

She stayed at home by herself yesterday, because both Glenn and I had meetings that prevented us from taking her to work with us. Glenn came home in the middle of the day to check on her, and everything was fine. But...when he got home from work, he discovered that she had shredded one of his work dress shirts. To make matters worse, it was his second most favorite work shirt. Bad dog! She has really never done anything like this before.

Of course, just the day before Glenn was given a "Most Valuable Player" award/certificate from a lady he works with for being the best dressed guy in his department. He was wearing the shirt Honeydew destroyed on the day he got this award...an award he had laminated so it could be preserved forever...and on display for all to see as he strutted his stuff around the office. I think maybe Honeydew was just trying to keep him humble. It's a hard job, but someone has to do it.

So, now, Honeydew won't be allowed to be alone in the house for long periods of time. We will go back to giving her this privilege slowly. Starting with only being alone in the kitchen (blocked off with doors and gates) where she can't get to anything to destroy. The trainer also recommended getting a 'special toy' that she is allowed to have during those times when she is expected to be good. Sort of a treat to make being alone less stressful. In the end, I think we assumed she was ready to be left alone for longer than she could tolerate. Time to dial it back and set her up for success instead of failure. I guess, this weekend, we will have to go get Glenn some new duds so he can keep up his reputation as a fashion trend setter!